Andy Kaufman still alive, says brother

Andy Kaufman's brother says the late comedian is still alive and has fathered a daughter while in hiding.

So the rest of the family is weird, too.

The “Taxi” star died in 1984 at the age of 35 from lung cancer, but there has always been speculation that his death was a hoax. Conspiracy theorists were given a big boost Monday after his brother Michael gave a bizarre speech at the annual Andy Kaufman Awards in New York City.

According to website WENN, Michael said he found an essay written by Andy, which included details on how he planned to fake his own death. He said the letter instructed him to go to a restaurant on Christmas Eve in 1999, where an anonymous man supposedly handed him another note, which he then read to the crowd.

“Everything was great in his life, and he just wanted to get away from being Andy Kaufman,” he said, adding that Andy said he fell in love and was raising a daughter.

Michael then shocked the audience by bringing a young woman out and introducing her as his brother's 24-year-old daughter. In video footage taken at Monday's event, obtained by TMZ, the unnamed woman backed Michael's story and said Andy has been living in secret as a stay-at-home dad.

Just so I have this straight: A man who wanted attention so badly he let a professional wrestler beat him up on David Letterman's talk show suddenly decided he wanted to stay home for nearly 30 years?

Why do I smell a pending book deal?

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The young woman also said Andy agreed to come out of hiding after 29 years to attend the event, but backed out at the last minute. The Hollywood Reporter contacted Michael after the event and reported that he said the mystery woman was impossible to reach for further questions.